Haydn project, part IV

On Wednesday, March 28, we got together for the 4th installment of the Haydn Project.
On the menu - before and after dinner* - were the six quartets in the op. 17 series, written in 1771. Haydn was 39 years old, Mozart 15, Beethoven was one.

Some tidbits surrounding the op. 17 series:
The autograph was formerly owned by the Imperial-Royal Chief of Police Johann Nepomuk Neuwirth.  It seems that Haydn used to play the viola in the quartet get-togethers/rehearsals at the Neuwirths’ home in Vienna.

Aside from the business of composing music, the year 1771 was apparently made even more interesting by a bar brawl between the oboist Zacharias Pohl and the double-bass player Xavier Marteau, surely helped along by large amounts of beer, in which the oboe player lost an eye. It fell to Haydn, as Kapellmeister, to arrange peace between the two and to ensure that they kept their positions in the Esterházy musical establishment.

• Quartet No. 17 in F major, Op. 17, No. 2, FHE No. 2, Hoboken No. III:26
• Quartet No. 18 in E major, Op. 17, No. 1, FHE No. 1, Hoboken No. III:25
• Quartet No. 19 in C minor, Op. 17, No. 4, FHE No. 4, Hoboken No. III:28
• Quartet No. 20 in D major, Op. 17, No. 6, FHE No. 6, Hoboken No. III:30
• Quartet No. 21 In E♭ major, Op. 17, No. 3, FHE No. 3, Hoboken No. III:27
• Quartet No. 22 in G major, Op. 17, No. 5, FHE No. 5, Hoboken No. III:29

Some of the standout moments were: the Finale in No. 1 the Adagio in No. 5, and the C-minor quartet No. 4.

Our friend Craig Leffer, cellist and frequent collaborator, helped bring the evening to a close with the Brahms G-major sextet, for 2 violins, 2 violas and 2 violoncellos.

Swang Lin, violin
Amy Faires, violin
Jennifer Sweetman, viola
Norbert Gerl, viola
Mitch Maxwell, violoncello



*Mozzarella Caprese, arugula and cucumber salads, various antipasti, two kinds of Wensleydale (see Wallace & Gromit), Spaghetti Bolognese, Black Forest cake.